1. What MyMath is

MyMath puts the equations in your manuscript onto the InDesign page at print quality. Equations are placed as vectors, not pictures, and black is a single K plate, so the pages can go to the printer as they are.

It comes in two parts

The two talk to each other through an exchange folder (Documents\MyMath\exchange). The panel finds and connects to this folder by itself — there is nothing to set up.

What you can do — at a glance

What kind of tool this is

• No fonts to install. Equation glyphs are drawn as outlines (shapes), so you never have to send fonts to the printer or a contractor, and no "missing font" warning ever appears.
• No sidecar files. The equation goes into the document, and its source (LaTeX) is stored in a label on the same frame. With the document file alone you can re-edit at any time. There are no links to break.
• The source stays as plain text. An equation's source is LaTeX text, so it is easy to move to another tool later, or to search and replace.
• Korean textbook notation is supported. Permutations ₙPᵣ, repeating decimals, similarity ∽, parallel // and more, compiled from the list of symbols in Korea's national mathematics curriculum.
• Equation size follows the body text. Next to 9 pt body text the equation is built for 9 pt; next to an 18 pt heading it is built for 18 pt — automatically.
• It is free.

What you need

Folders MyMath uses

Everything is created under Documents\MyMath\. Keep this in mind for backups or for sharing with your team.

2. Install

One installer sets up both the editor and the InDesign plugin. There is nothing to configure.

2.1 Run the installer

1. Double-click MyMath-Setup.exe.
2. It installs without asking anything. The InDesign plugin is added automatically along with the editor.
3. When it finishes, the editor opens once and a MyMath Editor icon appears on the desktop.

2.2 Open the panel in InDesign

1. Start InDesign (if it was already running, quit and start it again).
2. Choose [Plugins] → MyMath → MyMath Equations.
3. If the Folder box under "Connection settings" at the bottom of the panel already shows a path, you are ready.

The panel finds and connects to the exchange folder (Documents\MyMath\exchange) by itself, and locates the editor automatically too.

2.3 First time only — [Allow]

The first time you place an equation, InDesign asks whether the MyMath plugin may open "…MyMath Editor.exe". Tick [Remember my choice] and click [Allow]. It won't ask again.

2.4 Requirements

2.5 Updating · uninstalling

To update, simply run the new installer. The editor and the plugin are replaced together and your settings are kept.

To uninstall, go to Windows Settings → Apps and remove "MyMath Editor". The editor and the InDesign plugin are removed together. Equations already placed in your documents stay, and print exactly as before.

3. Your first equation in 5 minutes

This walk-through gets the whole flow into your hands. Follow it in order.

3.1 Placing an equation

1. In InDesign, create a text frame and type Quadratic equation .
2. With the cursor still there, type x^2-5x+6=0 in the panel's quick-insert box and press Enter.
3. A moment later the equation appears at the cursor.

3.2 Editing the equation you placed

1. Click the equation you just placed to select it. The panel shows that equation's details.
2. Click [Edit Equation] in the panel. The editor opens with that equation loaded.
3. Change the 6 to an 8.
4. Click [Id InDesign] in the editor, or press Ctrl+S.
5. The equation is replaced in the same spot.

3.3 Building a longer equation

1. Put the cursor in your text and click [Edit Equation] in the panel.
2. Type x= on the editor's canvas.
3. Ctrl+F (fraction) → type -b in the numerator → Tab → type 2a in the denominator.
4. [Id InDesign] — it goes into your text.

More ways to build equations are in chapter 6.

3.4 Deleting an equation

Delete it like any other character in your text. An inline equation behaves as a single character, so Backspace removes it.

4. Four ways to place an equation

Pick whichever fits the situation. The quality of the result is identical for all four.

4.1 Quick insert — without leaving InDesign

Type in the input box in the panel's "Edit" section and press Enter. There is no trip to the editor window, so this is the fastest way. The editor renders quietly in the background, so the quality is exactly the same as an equation built in the editor.

4.2 Composing in the editor

1. Put the cursor where the equation should go and click [Edit Equation] in the panel.
2. Build the equation in the editor (see chapter 6).
3. [Id InDesign] or Ctrl+S — it is placed at the cursor.

The editor reads the body text size at that spot and sizes the equation to match. The editor's status bar shows something like "fitted to body size: 9.5pt".

4.3 Converting $…$ in a manuscript — when there are many equations

Instead of placing equations one at a time, you write them into the manuscript in advance and convert them all at once. For work with hundreds of equations, such as a textbook, this saves a great deal of time.

How to write the manuscript

Wrap each equation in dollar signs. It is just plain text in Word, Hangul or anywhere else, so it transfers without trouble.

The solutions of the quadratic equation $ax^2+bx+c=0$ are $x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$.
The number of roots depends on the sign of the discriminant $D=b^2-4ac$.

Converting

1. Flow the manuscript into InDesign — File → Place (Ctrl+D).
   For Word or Hangul files, [Place manuscript] below is quicker.
2. Choose the scope in the panel's "Document" section (whole document / selected frame).
3. Click [Convert $...$ equations].
4. The editor opens automatically, builds the equations, and each spot is replaced in turn.
5. When it finishes, the panel reports how many were placed, skipped and failed.

For Word and Hangul manuscripts — [Place manuscript]

If the manuscript is a Word (.docx) or Hangul (.hwpx) file with equations inside it, you can flow it in and convert it in a single step.

1. Put the cursor in a text frame.
2. In the panel's "Document" section, click [Place manuscript (Word · HWPX)] and pick the manuscript file.
3. The text flows in at the cursor, and the equations in the manuscript (Word equations, Hangul equations) become equation graphics automatically.

4.4 Editing an equation already placed

1. Click the equation in the document to select it. The panel shows its details (content · size · body text size · vertical position).
2. [Edit Equation] — the editor opens with that equation loaded. The editor's status bar shows "re-edit mode".
3. Make your change, then [Id InDesign] — the same spot is replaced with the new equation. The surrounding text reflows naturally.

To go through every equation in a document, Send list to editor in chapter 9 is more convenient. You can open any equation for editing with one click in the list, without hunting through the document.

5. The editor window

The MyMath editor window is divided into six large areas. This chapter explains, one by one, every button and display in those six areas. If you come across something on screen and do not know what it means, look up its name in this chapter.

Overall layout

The title bar

The status message at the right end of the title bar tells you, in one line, the result of what you just did. Insert a symbol from a palette and it says, for example, "inserted: square root (radical)"; after a wrong move it tells you what to do, as in "place the cursor inside the fraction to convert". If you clicked something and the screen did not change, look here first.

5.1 The ribbon

The ribbon has two rows, a top row and a bottom row, with a thin line between them. Each row is divided into several groups, and the group name is written in gray below the buttons.

There are two kinds of button.

• Large buttons — a glyph (a picture of the symbol) on top and the name underneath. Most of them open a symbol gallery.
• Small buttons — single-line buttons stacked vertically inside a group (cut, copy and so on).

What happens when you click a category button

1. Click a large category button in the ribbon (for example √ radical).
2. The symbol gallery window for that category opens. Each item is drawn in its real shape, and hovering over it shows a description.
3. Click an item and it is inserted at the cursor in the canvas and the window closes.

5.1.1 The top row

The "clipboard" group

The "Edit" group

The "Korean textbook" group — only the items whose notation differs from international practice, gathered separately at the front of the ribbon.

The "equation structure" group

The "operator" group

The "calculus" group

The "structure" group

The "function" group

5.1.2 The bottom row

The "symbol" group

The "Format" group

The "font" group

The "import" group

The "export" group

5.1.3 The matrix wizard

Adding and removing rows and columns after inserting is done with the precision control bar (5.3) or "edit matrix" in the properties panel (5.5).

5.2 The sidebar (left)

Click the title row of a section to collapse or expand it. Collapse the sections you rarely use and the screen feels much roomier. Clicking the small buttons inside a title row (＋, 📁, ↻ and so on) does not collapse it.

5.2.1 🕘 Recently used symbols

Symbols you have just used from a palette gallery or symbol search line up as small pill-shaped chips. Up to 14 are remembered, and using the same symbol again moves it to the front.

• Click a chip to insert that symbol again at the cursor.
• In typesetting that uses the same symbols over and over, you do not have to find your way back into the category.
• Clips and characters you type are not recorded here. Only palette items are.

5.2.2 🕐 Recently used

Keeps up to 10 whole equations you have edited, most recent first.

• Click an item and the canvas content is replaced by that equation. (Unlike recently used symbols, which are inserted.)
• Hover over it and the full LaTeX source appears as a tooltip.

5.2.3 ★ Favorites

Saves equations you use often on this computer.

If you add an equation that is already registered, it says "already in favorites" and does not store a duplicate.

5.2.4 📎 Clips

Clips are where you keep frequently used pieces of equations, named, as files. Where a favorite "replaces the whole canvas", a clip "inserts a piece at the cursor".

Clip files go one by one into the following folder.

~/Documents/MyMath/Clips/

Every item in the list comes with a preview drawn for real, so you are never left guessing from the name alone.

5.2.5 📄 Document equations

The section where you look over the equations in an InDesign document from within the editor, and click one to fix that spot directly.

1. In the MyMath panel in InDesign, click [Send list to editor] under "Document".
2. The list arrives by itself under "document equations" in the editor's sidebar. If you do not see it, click [↻] in the title row.
3. The list fills in. Each row shows the page number and the beginning of the equation.
4. Click a row and that equation comes into the canvas in re-edit mode. Place it with Ctrl+S in this state and that spot in the document is updated.

5.2.6 📐 Pick equation

The button at the top of the sidebar. Click it and the equation gallery opens below the canvas — 14 families and 1009 equations, from the elementary to high-school curriculum through advanced and AI formulas, shown as cards drawn for real.

The gallery is already open when you first start the editor, and it does not close when you type an equation. The contents of each family are described in section 6.12.

5.3 The precision control bar

Size

Font style

Changes the typeface of the selected part. Choose from eleven.

When you change the typeface, the one that was set before is removed first and the new one applied, so they never nest.

Color

Bold · italic · default

The B and I buttons mirror the current state at the cursor. Put the cursor inside bold text and the B button looks pressed. The font style drop-down and the size display likewise follow the cursor automatically.

Matrix

Six buttons that work while the cursor is inside a matrix cell.

The same six are also under "edit matrix" in the properties panel (5.5) and under menu "Format → edit matrix". They all do the same thing.

5.4 The canvas

5.4.1 Ways of entering an equation

The canvas is an area where you edit what you see. You can mix the following methods.

• Typing — type x^2 and it turns into a superscript on the spot.
• Ribbon palettes — category button → choose from the gallery (5.1).
• Symbol search — find by typing a name with Ctrl+/.
• Two-step shortcuts — Ctrl+G followed by a letter inserts a Greek letter, Ctrl+K a symbol, Ctrl+T a Korean-notation structure. Pressing the first key brings up the assignment table at the bottom of the screen, so there is nothing to memorize. Esc cancels.
• Pasting — with Ctrl+Shift+V, insert an equation copied from Word and elsewhere without worrying about its format.
• Equation gallery · sidebar — choose from the cards below the canvas (6.12), or bring things in from clips and favorites (5.2).

Empty slots are shown as ⬚. Moving between them with Tab and filling them in is the comfortable way.

5.4.2 The empty-canvas hint

When the canvas is empty, the following hint is shown.

• Type your equation here
• Just type — x^2, 1/2, \alpha become math
• Ctrl+/ symbol search · Ctrl+F fraction · Ctrl+R radical · Enter add a row (multi-line)
• Choose from the ribbon, or paste a Word or Hangul equation with Ctrl+Shift+V
• Right-click = quick menu · when done, [Id InDesign] or Ctrl+S

5.4.3 The right-click menu

Right-click on the canvas and eleven things you might want to do right now appear.

Close the menu by clicking outside it or pressing Esc. Even when opened at the edge of the window, the menu positions itself so that it is not cut off.

5.4.4 Autosave and recovery

Every time you type, the current equation is saved temporarily about 0.8 seconds later. When you close the window normally, a mark saying "ended cleanly" is left and the temporary copy is not used.

But if the program quits unexpectedly and is started again, a recovery bar appears at the top of the canvas.

• It shows the message "⚠ Your last editing session ended unexpectedly — recover the equation from around hh:mm?" together with the beginning of that equation.
• [restore] — brings that equation back into the canvas.
• [discard] — deletes the temporary copy.

5.4.5 Guides drawn over the canvas

Switch them on under "view settings" (menu View → view settings, or the right-click menu) and guides such as baselines and boundaries are drawn over the canvas. There are nine.

[hide all] at the bottom of the view settings window switches them all off at once, and [redraw] (Ctrl+D) forces a fresh drawing when the screen looks stale.

5.5 The properties panel (right)

5.5.1 How it works — "only the one object the cursor is in"

You can check in three places which object the cursor is in now.

• The "selected object" display at the top of the panel — for example fraction (at cursor)
• The matching section is highlighted in blue.
• "current position" in the status bar — for example denominator ‹ inside the radical

5.5.2 The head and foot of the panel

5.5.3 🔲 Delimiter height

Adjusts the height of the delimiters the cursor is in, in five steps — auto → small → medium → large → largest.

5.5.4 ∑ Big-operator scripts

Sets the position of the limits of big operators such as ∫ ∑ ∏.

As the panel itself notes, Korean textbooks use the stacked form even inside a line of text. Stacking makes the equation taller, though, and affects the line spacing, so check the result when mixing it into body text.

5.5.5 📏 Align multiple lines

Handles the alignment of equations that run over several lines. Make the lines with Enter or with [+ add row] below.

─ rule between rows — used to divide the steps of a calculation into blocks.

5.5.6 📐 Size info

Shows the dimensions the equation will really have in InDesign. It updates automatically as you type.

The small drop-down at the right of the title switches the unit between pt · mm · inch. Useful for measuring in advance the width of an equation that will go inside a table.

5.5.7 ✥ Precision nudge

Moves the selected part by very small amounts. Use it when a script looks slightly too close, or when you want to raise a single symbol by a hair.

Shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+arrow keys make the same moves.

5.5.8 √ Radical alignment

Put the cursor inside the radical, then click.

5.5.9 📐 Fraction style

Changes the size style of the one fraction the cursor is in.

5.5.10 ⎡⎤ Edit matrix · partition rules · row/column alignment

These work while the cursor is inside a matrix cell.

edit matrix

┼ partition rules — the dividers used for an augmented matrix [1 2 | 3] or a table-like layout. The rule is placed relative to the cell the cursor is in.

⇹ row/column alignment

Partition rules already inserted stay in place when you change the alignment.

5.5.11 ∫ Integral style

5.5.12 √ Radical index

5.6 The status bar

5.6.1 Left — four quick actions

5.6.2 The LaTeX source box

Click [view LaTeX] and the source box opens above the status bar.

5.6.3 Right — the current status

5.6.4 Zoom

Finer control (steps of ±1%, and shortcuts to 100 · 200 · 400 · 800 · 1600 · 3200%) is in the "zoom" part of the view settings window.

5.7 The menu bar

The menu bar is always visible at the top of the window. Functions that are not in the ribbon are all here.

5.7.1 File

5.7.2 Edit

5.7.3 Format

5.7.4 View

5.7.5 Size

5.7.6 Window

5.7.7 Help

5.8 Changing the layout

For when the screen is small, or when you want areas you do not use out of the way. Start from menu Window → panel layout.

5.8.1 Showing · hiding areas

Untick an area and it disappears from the screen. Each of the six areas can be switched on and off.

At the bottom of the window there are also buttons that do it all at once.

5.8.2 Detaching palettes

The properties panel and the sidebar can be detached like windows and moved freely. Handy on a wide monitor, with the canvas large in the middle and the panels pulled off to the side.

1. Under "detach" in the panel layout window, tick [detach properties panel] or [detach sidebar].
2. A title bar appears on top of the area. Drag this bar to move it where you like.
3. To put it back, click the [⇤] button at the right of the title bar, or untick it in the panel layout window.

The position and size of a detached panel are remembered, so it is in the same place the next time you open the editor.

5.8.3 Changing the palette size

Enlarges or reduces the text and buttons of the ribbon, sidebar and properties panel all together. Use it when the buttons look too small on a high-resolution monitor.

1. Open menu View → view settings.
2. On the "palette size" row, click one of 80% · 90% · 100% · 115% · 130% · 150%.
3. The value now in effect is shown in bold.

6. Writing equations — a hands-on tour

This is not a chapter to read but a chapter to follow along with. Keep the editor open and work through it from the top; by the time you reach the last section you will be able to build nearly every equation that turns up on a textbook page.

6.1 Just type

An equation editor does not mean picking everything from a palette. Common structures such as fractions and scripts take shape on the spot when you type them like ordinary text. The table below was checked by actually sending the keys to the canvas.

What takes shape as you type

Getting out of a fraction

When you make a fraction with /, the cursor stays in the denominator slot. Keep typing and everything goes into the denominator. Type 1/2+1/3 straight through and the whole 2+⅓ ends up as the denominator.

1. Type 1/2. The cursor is after the 2 in the denominator.
2. Press → (right arrow) once to come out of the fraction.
3. Now type + and carry on with the next term.

Shortcuts that call up a structure

Greek letters and symbols have their own two-step shortcuts. Press Ctrl+G and an assignment table appears at the bottom of the screen; press a letter next and that symbol goes in. There is nothing to memorize — read the table and choose.

6.2 Fractions

Making one — four ways

1. Type it — just type 3/4. The fastest way.
2. Shortcut — Ctrl+F. Numerator and denominator open as empty slots.
3. Ribbon — the Fraction button in "equation structure" on the top row. 17 fraction forms on one screen.
4. Search — Ctrl+/, then fraction or frac.

Moving between slots

Tab takes you from the numerator to the denominator, Shift+Tab brings you back, and → takes you out of the fraction.

Nested fractions

1. Type 1/2.
2. With the cursor still in the denominator slot, press Ctrl+F — another fraction appears inside the denominator.
3. For many levels, as in a continued fraction, use the \cfrac item (1+1/(…)) of the "Fraction" family: the size does not shrink level by level, so it stays readable.

Display · inline · small fractions

The same a/b needs a different size inside a line of text and set large on a line of its own. Put the cursor inside the fraction you want to change and choose under 📐 fraction style in the properties panel on the right.

Fraction bar thickness

In print, a heavy fraction bar looks untidy. Under Ctrl+; (Preferences) → line thickness (print quality), enter a pt value for fraction bar. 0 means automatic. At 11 pt body text the automatic value is about 0.66 pt, which is on the heavy side for print.

1. Ctrl+; → find "line thickness (print quality)".
2. Enter a value such as 0.35 for fraction bar.
3. The preview just below is redrawn through the real output path — check it by eye and save.

Internally the value is converted to em, so the proportion is kept whether the body text is 9 pt or 14 pt. Save combinations you use often as a style set (Ctrl+E) and you can load them in one step for the next job.

6.3 Radicals

The "Radical" family has four items.

Making a square root

1. Press Ctrl+R. An empty radical appears with the cursor inside.
2. Type b^2-4ac.
3. Come out of the radical with →.

Adding an index

To turn a √x you have already made into a cube root, put the cursor inside that radical and, under √ radical index in the properties panel, enter 3 for n = and click apply. Set it back to n = 2 and the index disappears, returning to an ordinary square root.

Alignment of a radical

There are two choices for where the radical sits on the line: baseline / center under √ radical alignment in the properties panel. Baseline aligns with the text baseline; center aligns with the middle of the radical as a whole. In a book where radicals often appear inside lines of text, baseline keeps the lines steadier.

Radical line thickness

It is in the same place as for fractions — Preferences → line thickness (print quality) → radical rule. The top line and the tail of the radical change together.

6.4 Scripts

The four basics

Prescripts — essential for permutations and combinations

A script that comes before the letter, as in ₅P₃, cannot be made by plain typing. The shortest route is Ctrl+T then P.

1. Press Ctrl+T — the assignment table appears.
2. Press P — the frame {}_{⬚}\mathrm{P}_{⬚} goes in.
3. 5 in the front slot, Tab, 3 in the back slot.

Nested scripts

To put a script inside a script, as in x^{2^n}, type ^ again inside the script slot. Think of it as pressing → once for every slot you leave and you will not get lost.

The "Script" family also has these special forms.

Script size

What percentage of the body size scripts shrink to differs from publisher to publisher and book to book. You can set the values yourself.

1. Ctrl+; → open the equation size group.
2. Enter the base size (0 follows the InDesign body text size), script % and scriptscript %.
3. Check the preview and save. The status bar shows the current values, as in 10.5pt · script 50%.

If you worry about scripts clogging up in print, try switching on make scripts a bit bolder under 🇰🇷 Korean publishing options in Preferences. Only the scripts get slightly heavier, so they stay legible at small sizes.

6.5 Big operators — integral · sum · product · limit

Each of the four has its own family. The common forms are ready with their limits already in place, so all you do is choose.

Making a definite integral

1. Ribbon top row, "operator" → click Integral.
2. Choose ∫ₐᵇ f dx — the lower and upper limits and the dx go in with it.
3. Click the limit slots and change them to 0 and 1, then write the integrand in the middle.

Putting limits above and below the sign

Korean textbooks put the limits of ∑ and lim above and below the sign even inside a line of text. The default typesetting rule puts them at the side when inline, so left alone the page gives a different impression.

Put the cursor inside the operator and choose under ∑ big-operator scripts in the properties panel.

To insert them stacked from the start, use ∑ stacked · under lim in the "Korean notation" family, or press Ctrl+T then S / M.

Size of the integral sign

Choose large (display) / inline under ∫ integral style in the properties panel.

Stretchy integral — growing to match the content beside it

In front of a tall expression containing fractions or radicals, the integral sign looks small by comparison. Menu "Size" → Stretchy integral… can match it automatically.

1. Open menu Size → Stretchy integral….
2. Switch on stretch the integral sign to match the height beside it.
3. start stretching at (default 120%) — the sign stretches when the equation is taller than the integral sign by more than this ratio.
4. maximum (default 300%) — however tall the content, this scale is never exceeded.
5. Check the preview and save.

The sign is held at the bottom and stretched upward, so the baseline does not shift. The stretch is part of the output shapes themselves, so it carries over exactly to the vector PDF placed in InDesign.

6.6 Delimiters

Delimiters that fit the content height automatically

The 8 basic items of the "Delimiters" family are all of the \left … \right kind. Whether a fraction or a matrix goes inside, the delimiters match the height by themselves.

Setting the size by hand — 5 steps

Sometimes the automatic size looks too large or too small for the page. Put the cursor inside the delimiters and move through the steps with ▲ bigger / ▼ smaller under 🔲 delimiter height in the properties panel.

auto (\left\right) ↔ \big ↔ \Big ↔ \bigg ↔ \Bigg

Click auto at any time to return to \left … \right.

Unmatched delimiters

Delimiters with only one side, or with different left and right sides, can be made too — the interval notation (a, b] or the evaluation bar f(x)\big|_a^b, for instance. They are under more in the "Delimiters" family.

\left. means "there is a delimiter here, but do not draw it". It only holds the place so that the pair is matched, and it is what lets the vertical bar on the right grow to the height of the content.

6.7 Matrices

The matrix wizard

Unlike the other families, the ribbon's Matrix button opens not a list of items but a wizard. Ctrl+M does the same.

The wizard has two parts.

1. Presets — 14 common forms lined up as buttons. Click one and it goes straight in and the wizard closes.
2. or custom — enter the number of rows and columns yourself, from 1 to 30, that is, up to 30×30.

The 14 presets

Custom

1. Ribbon "structure" → Matrix (or Ctrl+M).
2. Enter the number of rows and columns under Size (for example 4 × 5).
3. Choose the delimiters — ( ) · [ ] · { } · | | · ‖ ‖ · none · array, 7 kinds.
4. align is center / left / right. It applies only when you chose array.
5. The preview below shows the current settings, as in 4×5 / [ ] square brackets.
6. Insert (Enter) — every cell opens as an empty slot (⬚). Esc cancels.

Filling the cells

Move from cell to cell with Tab. At the end of a row, Tab goes to the first cell of the next row. You can also click a cell directly with the mouse.

Adding and deleting rows and columns

With the cursor inside a matrix cell, use the "matrix" group of the control bar above the canvas or the six buttons under ⎡⎤ edit matrix in the properties panel.

Partition rules — making an augmented matrix

A form with a vertical divider, like the coefficient matrix of a system of equations, can be made in one step with the four buttons under ┼ partition rules in the properties panel.

1. Make a matrix with 3 columns and fill in the values.
2. Click where you want the divider — any cell in column 2 — to put the cursor there.
3. Click │ right. A vertical line appears between columns 2 and 3.

Use │ left · ─ above · ─ below in the same way. They work just as well for building a table-like layout.

Row and column alignment

Under ⇹ row/column alignment in the properties panel, the horizontal choices are ⇤ left · ↔ center · ⇥ right, and the vertical ones ⤒ top · ⇔ baseline · ⤓ bottom. In a table of numbers, right alignment lines the digits up and reads well.

Adding alignment or partition rules automatically turns a frame such as pmatrix into array, because it has to be a frame that accepts column formatting. The visible delimiters stay the same, and partition rules already inserted are not lost when you change the alignment.

6.8 Multi-line equations

When a derivation runs over several lines, it reads well only if the equals signs line up vertically. You do not align them with spaces by hand; you choose what to align on.

Making the lines

1. Write the first line — x^2-5x+6=0.
2. Click + add row under 📏 align multiple lines in the properties panel.
3. Write the next step on the new line — (x-2)(x-3)=0.
4. Repeat + add row as often as you need.

Three things to align on

To align whole lines without a reference point, use ⇤ left · ↔ center · ⇥ right. clear alignment removes the alignment and keeps the lines.

Rules between rows

Column arithmetic and table-like layouts need horizontal rules. They are the four buttons above · every line · below · clear in the properties panel.

Row spacing

When the lines feel cramped or too far apart, set a value with the row spacing… button. The unit is em (a proportion of the font size), so the proportion holds when the body size changes. Clear the value to return to the default spacing.

6.9 Hangul inside equations

(단, x>0), (자연수)÷(자연수), {x | x는 10 이하의 자연수} — this is notation the Korean curriculum notice itself uses. It is the formal style, not an exception, so it has to be easy to write.

Inserting Hangul

1. Choose the Korean item (\text{ }) in the "Accents" family, or type \text + Enter.
2. Type the Korean text straight into the slot that opens.
3. Come out with →.

The common forms are in the "Korean notation" family, complete.

Choosing the Korean font

The page looks natural only when Hangul inside equations has the same shape as the body font.

1. Ctrl+; → go to the Korean font for text in equations group.
2. Type part of a name in the find font box — Myungjo, Nanum, Batang.
3. Choose from the list below. It shows every Korean font installed on the computer.
4. Check the shape in the preview.

6.10 Typefaces and color

11 typefaces

This is the font style list in the control bar above the canvas. First select the part you want to change by dragging, then choose.

Bold · italic

The B / I buttons of the control bar, or Ctrl+B / Ctrl+Shift+I. If the style is already on, click once more to remove it. When you move the cursor, the buttons and the font style list update by themselves to match that spot, so you can see what formatting the cursor is currently inside.

Font size

Set the size of the selected part with the Size list (6–72 pt) in the control bar or the input box beside it. You can also fine-tune it from the keyboard.

Under menu Size → Size… you can enter 1.0–127.0 pt directly and also view the value in pt · mm · inch · %. With no size specified, the equation simply follows the InDesign body text size.

Adding color

1. Select the part to color by dragging.
2. Click the color box beside font in the control bar and choose a color.
3. The background color is the background box; to remove it, the × button next to it.

Six common colors are ready under menu Format → font color: red, blue, green, orange, purple and black.

Named colors — color styles

If colors carry a meaning in your book — "answers in blue, warnings in red" — use color styles: 🎨 color style under "font" in the ribbon's bottom row.

1. Register a color under a name (for example answer).
2. The equation stores only the name, not the color value.
3. Change the color value of that name later and every equation that uses the style changes with it.

6.11 Symbol search Ctrl+/

No need to wonder "which family was the cube root in?" Press Ctrl+/ and type the name.

1. Press Ctrl+/.
2. Type what you are looking for — the name in the language of the screen, the Korean name or a LaTeX command all work.
3. Choose with ↑ ↓. Each line shows the symbol · its name · which family it is in.
4. Enter inserts it at the cursor. Esc closes.

It finds things under other names too

The name written in the palette and the name people actually use are not the same. The family is called "Radical", but plenty of people look for root. So each family carries a set of synonyms as well.

6.12 Pick equation — the equation gallery

Instead of typing from scratch, you can pick a finished equation and edit it. When you open the editor, family tabs and equation cards drawn for real are laid out below the canvas — 14 families, 1009 equations. Click a card and it goes into the canvas with the cursor in the first empty slot (⬚). Just change the numbers and letters.

1. Choose a family tab. Each tab shows its count.
2. Or type a name or symbol in the search box at the top — quadratic, integral, matrix.
3. Click a card. It is inserted at the cursor, so you can also join several pieces together.
4. Move through the empty slots with Tab and fill them in.

7. Korean textbook notation

Mathematical notation follows different conventions from country to country. If you simply use the symbols that are common internationally, what goes out differs from the pages of Korean textbooks and workbooks. So that you don't have to memorize these differences, MyMath puts a "Korean notation" palette first among the palettes and in the first group of the ribbon.

7.1 What it is based on

The reference is the list of <terms and symbols> in the Ministry of Education's notified mathematics curriculum (Annex 8). The original notices of the 2009, 2015 and 2022 revisions were compared against each other. In the 2022 revision, <terms and symbols> no longer exists as a separate item; it is written into the "considerations when applying the achievement standards" of each area as sentences.

7.2 Symbols that differ from international notation

The symbols in the table below are different characters even where they look alike. In particular, similarity ∽ (U+223D) and ∼ (U+223C) are separate characters, mirrored left to right.

The "symbol > relation" palette still has the international forms too, each with a description that tells you which is which. For instance, the description of the \cong item reads "congruent \cong — international notation. Korea uses ≡", and that of \parallel reads "parallel \parallel — international notation. Korea uses //". When typesetting international papers or English-language books, pick those.

7.3 All 32 items of the "Korean notation" palette

Clicking a palette button places the result below at the cursor. ▯ is an empty slot to fill in; the cursor lands in the first ▯.

7.4 Things that are hard to build by hand

Repeating decimals — where the dots go is the rule

Dots go on the first and last digits of the repeating block only; the middle is left bare. The example in the notice itself has the form 7.\dot{2}1\dot{5}. Dotting the middle digits too would mean something else.

The four permutation and combination forms

Without \mathrm, the P, C and H slant into italics and no longer match the textbook page. The palette items already include \mathrm. The pre-subscript is held in place by an empty {} group — in the editing view this empty group shows as an empty-slot mark (⬚), but it is tidied away in the output.

Sequences {aₙ}

In LaTeX, braces are grouping syntax, so typed plainly they do not appear on screen. The palette item inserts the escaped form \{ \}.

Lines, rays, segments and arcs

7.5 The multiplication sign

× continues to be used in high school as well, as in 750°=360°\times 2+30°. This differs from the preference for \cdot common in English-language typesetting.

• In algebraic expressions the multiplication sign is omitted — 3ab
• The middle dot · is reserved for the vector dot product
• \cdot (U+22C5) inside an equation and the middle dot of Korean body text (U+00B7) are different characters. Mixed on the same page, their widths look off

7.6 Stacking the limits of Σ and lim even inline

By default, the typesetting engine places the limits of Σ, ∏ and lim beside the symbol when inline. Korean textbooks place them above and below even inline. The ∑ stacked and under lim items of the "Korean notation" palette insert the form with \limits attached.

For an equation already built, the position of the limits can be changed under "big-operator scripts" in the properties panel: ⇕ stacked / → side / auto. Only the one operator that contains the cursor changes.

7.7 Hangul inside equations

The notice itself uses notation such as (자연수)÷(자연수) and {x | x는 10 이하의 자연수}. It is the formal style, not an exception. MyMath draws Hangul inside equations by taking the outlines directly from an installed Korean font, so print quality (K100 vector) is kept without installing any extra font on the InDesign side. Choose the font under "Korean font for text in equations" in Preferences.

8. Vertical position

An equation placed inside a line of text (inline) can look slightly raised or lowered against the body text — this is the thing that most often needs a hand in equation typesetting. MyMath aligns it automatically at the moment you place it, and if something still catches the eye, lets you fine-tune that one equation by hand.

8.1 Automatic alignment — how it works

When you place an equation inline, the following happens automatically, in this order.

1. Center vertically in the line — the vertical center of the equation is matched to the visual center of the body text. The target is a height of 0.44 × the body text size (above the baseline); half the equation's height is subtracted from it to get the anchor's vertical offset. Whether the body text is 9 pt or 12 pt, the result is proportional to the text size, so the equation sits at the same ratio.
2. Recompose the text — the paragraph containing the equation is composed again. If this step were skipped, body text could appear to vanish from the screen.
3. Measure and correct — after placing, the actual deviation is measured and corrected (up to 3 times). The baseline of the equation's anchor character and the baseline of the body character right next to it are read, and the equation is raised by the difference.

The body text size used for the reference vertical position is read from the character size at the spot where the equation is placed. If it cannot be read, 11 pt is assumed.

8.2 Fine-tuning a single equation

Use the Vertical offset row under "Connection settings" in the panel. Automatic alignment gets most equations right; this is for the occasional equation that is unusually large and catches the eye.

1. Click the equation in InDesign to select it. The vertical offset display in the panel changes to that equation's actual value, such as +2.5 pt (selected).
2. Choose the step in the dropdown — 1 / 0.5 / 0.25 / 0.1 / 0.05 pt. The default is 0.25 pt; your choice is saved and kept for next time.
3. ▲ up / ▼ down — each click moves it by one step immediately.
4. Gone too far? 0 returns it to the standard automatic position (the measured correction runs again too).

After a move, the status line shows both the requested value and the amount actually moved, for example This equation: vertical 3.2 pt · moved +0.25 pt. If the actual movement is 0.00, the value was not applied, so check whether the equation is inline or placed freely on the page. A free-standing equation has no anchor offset, so the panel reports "This is not an inline equation".

8.3 Lines with tall equations

A line containing a tall equation — a fraction, an integral, a Σ with limits above and below — gets extra leading under auto leading, so the line spacing within the paragraph becomes uneven. If the page looks awkward even though the equation's vertical position is right, the cause is usually leading.

If a tall equation still touches the characters of the line above, it is often more natural on the page to set it as a display equation on its own line than to lower it with the vertical offset. Another option is to switch the limits of Σ or lim to "→ side" for that equation only, which reduces its height (see 7.6).

8.4 Reading the equation info box

When you select an equation in InDesign, an info box appears at the top of the panel. It has two lines.

For an equation placed freely outside a line of text, the second line reads Not inline (placed on the page).

9. Working with a whole document

Up to the previous chapter the subject was building one equation. This chapter is about handling a whole book. Converting all the equation source flowed in with a manuscript, counting every equation in the document, exporting them as a list, and re-rendering the whole document in one go after changing the typesetting settings — all of this happens in the "Document" section of the InDesign panel.

9.1 How the panel is laid out

From the top, the panel consists of one status line and then three sections.

9.2 Scope — whole document vs selected frame

The two buttons at the top of the "Document" section decide what the functions below them act on. The active one is shown darker. The default is whole document.

The scope applies to the following six functions.

• [Convert $...$ equations]
• [Re-render all equations]
• [Count equations]
• [Send list to editor]
• [Export SVG] · [Export PNG]
• [Export CSV]

[Redraw view] always acts on the current document, whatever the scope.

9.3 The Edit section

[Edit Equation]

Opens the editor window to build or change an equation. It is the button you will click most in the panel.

1. With the Type tool, click where the equation should go in your text (an inline equation). If nothing is selected, it is placed on the page.
2. Click [Edit Equation] in the panel.
3. The editor window opens. If it is already open, that window comes to the front and its content changes.
4. Finish the equation and click [Id InDesign] in the editor.
5. The panel places it in the document by itself. There is nothing more to click in the panel.

The panel passes a few things to the editor along with the request.

• The text size at that spot (pointSize) and the font name — the editor uses them to work out the equation's dimensions and baseline depth. That is why the same equation comes out with a different size and sitting height in 9.5 pt text and in 11 pt text.
• The equation's identifier (when an existing equation is being changed) — with it, the editor's status bar shows re-edit mode, and on placing, the equation at that spot is replaced instead of a new one being added.

The quick-insert box + [Insert]

Short equations go in straight from the panel, without switching windows. It is the shortest route.

1. Place the cursor in your text.
2. Type the equation in the panel's quick-insert box.
3. Enter or [Insert].

The box accepts both LaTeX and AsciiMath. You can type without backslashes, as in 1/2, x^2, sqrt(2), or in LaTeX, as in \frac{1}{2}. The editor renders it in the background and hands it back, so the quality is exactly that of an equation built with [Edit Equation] — it goes through the same vector PDF path.

Information about the selected equation

Click an equation in the document and an information box appears in the panel's Edit section. With nothing selected it disappears.

9.4 Converting $equations$ in a manuscript

Instead of inserting equations one at a time, you write them as text in the manuscript and convert them all later. It is especially convenient when the author and the typesetter are different people — the author needs to know neither InDesign nor MyMath.

Rules for writing the manuscript

In the manuscript (Word, a text editor, anything), wrap each equation in dollar signs at the place it belongs.

The sum of the two roots of the quadratic $x^2-5x+6=0$ is $\frac{-b}{a}$.

Bringing the manuscript into InDesign

1. Create a text frame in InDesign and place the cursor in it with the Type tool.
2. With Ctrl+D (Place), choose the manuscript file (.docx, text saved from .hwp, and so on).
3. The text flows in. The $…$ parts are still just characters.
4. Sort out the text formatting (font, size, leading) first. Equations follow the text size at their spot, so formatting comes first.

Converting

1. Set the scope (the first time, "selected frame" for just one article).
2. Click [Convert $...$ equations].
3. The panel scans the text, finds every $…$ and reads the text size at each spot.
4. The editor renders them one by one (if the editor is closed, the panel tries to start it automatically).
5. The panel places the results from the end toward the beginning, because changing an earlier spot first would shift the positions of the later characters.
6. When all are in, it recomposes the text and adjusts the vertical positions automatically.

Reading the result

When it finishes, the status line reads like this.

Conversion finished — placed 42 · skipped 1 · failed 0 · vertical correction ×2

9.5 Re-render all equations

Re-renders the document's equations with the current settings and replaces them in place. Position, size and the surrounding characters stay as they are; only the graphic is swapped for a new one.

When to use it

• After changing equation sizes (script ratios and so on)
• After changing the thickness of fraction bars or radical lines
• After changing the print color (K100 · spot color · overprint)
• After changing the typefaces by category or the precision spacing
• After switching to a different style set
• When you have changed the body text size throughout and the equations look too large or too small

The size drop-down

The drop-down to the right of the button sets the size to re-render at.

Steps and results

1. Set the scope and the size.
2. Click [Re-render all equations].
3. Status line: Re-rendering 128 equations (following the surrounding text size) — the editor is working…
4. The editor renders them one by one. Progress is shown in the editor window too.
5. At the end: Re-render finished — replaced 126 · not found 2 · failed 0

9.6 Count equations

Tells you at once how many MyMath equations there are in the current scope, and across how many pages.

128 equations across 34 pages

Click it before and after a batch job to check that the numbers agree, or to estimate the amount of work. If none are found, it says No MyMath equations found in this document.

9.7 Send list to editor + proofing check

Sends the list of every equation in the document to the editor's sidebar. It is the most useful function at the proofing stage.

1. Click [Send list to editor] in the panel.
2. Status line: Sent a list of 128 equations — see "document equations" in the editor sidebar
3. The list appears, with page numbers, under "document equations" in the editor's sidebar.
4. Click a line in the list and that equation comes to the canvas in re-edit mode.
5. Change it, click [Id InDesign], and that spot in the document is updated. There is no need to find and click the equation in the document.

Proofing check

The [proofing check] in the editor's sidebar goes through the whole loaded list and marks only the equations with a problem, in red.

At the end you see Proofing check done — 3 need review (red rows) or Proofing check done — everything looks fine ✅.

9.8 Export SVG · PNG

Saves the document's equations as images, one file per equation. Use it to carry the same equations over to web material or slides.

1. Set the scope.
2. Click [Export SVG] or [Export PNG].
3. Choose the folder to save in.
4. The editor renders them one by one and saves them in that folder.
5. At the end: Image export finished — 126 of 128 succeeded → (folder path)

9.9 Export CSV

Finds every equation in the document and saves two list files. You choose the folder.

The CSV has the following five columns.

9.10 Redraw view

After an equation is placed inline, the text characters sometimes seem to disappear from the screen. It happens because the composition state is left stale, and this button revives it in three steps.

1. Recompose that story.
2. Recompose the whole document.
3. Force the screen to redraw.

When it finishes, the status line shows what took effect (for example refreshed story+doc+redraw).

9.11 Connection settings

Folder

The folder through which the panel and the editor exchange files. There is nothing for you to set — when the panel starts it finds the standard location (Documents\MyMath\exchange) and connects to it by itself, creating it if it does not exist.

1. Open the panel.
2. The status line shows Exchange folder auto-connected: … and the path appears on the "Folder" row.
3. Only if you want to use a different folder, click [Change] and choose it yourself (Exchange folder set: …).

Once connected, it stays connected when you quit and restart InDesign. If the automatic connection fails, the panel says so with the reason: Exchange folder not set — click [Change] · auto-connect failed: (reason).

EXE

The location of the editor's program file. You can usually leave it empty — when you click [Edit Equation], the panel looks through the standard install locations in turn and starts the editor automatically.

Only if it cannot be found automatically, click [Choose] and point to the program file yourself. In that case the status line shows ⚠ Editor is not responding (launch path not found), so you will know at once. You can also simply start the editor yourself — while it is open, the button reaches that window directly.

Vertical offset (▲ ▼ 0)

Inline equations sit on the baseline automatically. If one still looks slightly high or low to the eye, raise or lower that one equation by hand.

1. Click the equation in the document. The display changes to something like +8.2 pt (selected).
2. Choose the step — 1 · 0.5 · 0.25 (default) · 0.1 · 0.05 pt.
3. Click ▲ (up) or ▼ (down) and adjust by eye. Each click reports in the status line how many pt it actually moved.
4. To undo, [0] — it returns to the standard automatic position.

The step you choose is saved and used next time too. The vertical offset acts on that one equation only and has no effect on equations placed afterwards.

Language

The language of the panel's text. The default is Auto (InDesign language) — it follows the language InDesign is running in. Choose another language here and the panel changes at once, and the editor follows shortly (see "Language" at the end of chapter 10).

9.12 The re-editing flow

There are three ways to change an equation that is already placed. In all three, the spot and the surrounding characters stay the same and only the content changes.

When an equation is placed again, its spot is found in the following order.

1. If the equation currently selected still exists, that spot is replaced.
2. Otherwise the document is scanned for the identifier the editor sent along, and that spot is replaced.
3. If neither is available, it goes in as a new equation (at the cursor, or on the page).

The graphic that is placed has an order of preference too — a vector PDF comes first, an SVG made by the editor second, and one drawn by the panel itself is the last safety net. In normal use it is always the first choice, the vector PDF, that goes in.

10. Preferences

Preferences is where you decide what your equations look like when drawn. Font size, typefaces, spacing, line thickness, print color — values that, once set, apply equally to every equation you make from then on are gathered here. That is different in kind from operations that touch a single equation (delimiter height in the properties panel, precision nudge and so on).

Opening it

1. Click the ⚙ button at the right of the title bar.
2. Or press Ctrl+;.
3. Or use menu View → preferences.

From top to bottom, the dialog runs through the groups style set / equation size / font style by category / print color (separation) / line thickness / precision spacing / Korean font for text in equations / inline vertical position / appearance / Korean publishing options / tab order. Values are kept only when you click save at the bottom.

10.1 Style sets

A style set is all the values of Preferences stored in a single file. Use it when typesetting rules differ from book to book, or when several people share the work on one book. Pass the file around and everyone's equation typesetting comes out exactly the same.

What is stored

Buttons

Where the files are

Style sets are saved as .json files in the following folder.

~/Documents/MyMath/StyleSets/

10.2 Equation size

Sets the base size of equations and how much scripts shrink. How small scripts are set differs from publisher to publisher and book to book, so the values are left open for you to decide.

Quick settings

The editing canvas follows the ratios set here too. The script size you see on screen and the script size that goes into InDesign are the same. The status bar shows the current size, as in 10.5pt · script 50%.

Storage keys: mymath_size_base / mymath_size_script / mymath_size_scriptscript

10.3 Font style by category

The characters in an equation are divided by kind, and each kind is given its own letterform (upright, italic, bold, sans-serif, monospace). "Variables italic, digits upright, function names upright" is the basic rule of mathematical typesetting, but it varies a little from publisher to publisher. This is where you match those differences.

These are all 13 categories.

The User1 · User2 character boxes

In the two boxes below the category list, type the characters to apply the style to, run together (for example abc). Commas and spaces count as characters too, so type the characters only. Use them for rules such as "only the i j k used as vectors in this book are bold".

What is left alone

• Typefaces set directly in the equation — a group that already names a typeface, such as \mathbf{v}, is left as it is. The inner setting takes precedence over the category rules.
• Command names — the names of control sequences themselves, such as \sin and \frac
• Environment names — \begin{pmatrix} and so on

Storage keys: mymath_stylecat_ + the category name

10.4 Script weight (make scripts a bit bolder)

This is a checkbox in the 🇰🇷 Korean publishing options group of Preferences.

Scripts shrink to around half the body size, so at the same weight their strokes become thin on paper and can look faint. Some publishers use a heavier face for scripts than for the body, and this option serves the same purpose.

Positions where a weight has already been set (x^{\mathbf{2}} and the like) are left alone. Switch it on or off and the result is drawn in the preview box just below.

Korean body-text presets

These are five buttons in the same group. Click one and the five values base size · script % · scriptscript % · fraction bar · radical rule change together.

Storage key: mymath_subfont_bold

10.5 Print color (separation)

Decides what color the black of an equation is printed in. If you are making printed matter, this is the most important setting.

Overprint

Storage keys: mymath_color_mode / mymath_color_cmyk / mymath_color_spotname / mymath_color_spotcmyk / mymath_color_overprint

10.6 Line thickness

Sets the weight of fraction bars and radical rules in pt. These values affect print quality directly.

The default (auto) is about 0.66 pt at 11 pt body text, which is on the heavy side for print. If you want thinner lines to match your book's typesetting rules, enter the values yourself.

A value entered in pt is converted internally to a proportion of the body size. So the lines keep the same relative weight when the body size changes.

Storage keys: mymath_sp_fracbar / mymath_sp_rootbar

10.7 Korean font for text in equations

Chooses the font in which Hangul inside an equation, such as (단, x>0), is drawn.

How it works

When the editor starts, it goes through the system font folder and the user font folder, checks whether each font file contains Hangul characters, and builds the list. It reads .ttf · .otf · .ttc alike.

On output, MyMath takes the outline of each character directly from the chosen font file and draws it just like the other math symbols. As a result:

• The font does not have to be installed on the InDesign side. Equations go in as shapes, without referring to a font.
• The font is not embedded whole in the PDF, so documents do not grow heavy.
• Hangul is a vector path like any other symbol, so the solid K100 guarantee holds.

Storage key: mymath_hangul_font

10.8 Precision spacing

Fine-tunes the spacing between the parts of an equation. The items appear only after you click expand at the right of the group title.

10.8.1 Basic typesetting parameters (12 items, unit %)

Values are % of the default. 100 is the default state.

Storage keys: mymath_fine_ + the item name

10.8.2 Spacing by structure (23 items)

From here on, the default is 0 (or 100%) = nothing added. Whatever you enter is added.

Storage keys: mymath_spadv_ + the item name

10.8.3 Spacing by pair (25 pairs + 1 option)

The elements of an equation are divided into ten kinds, and spacing is adjusted separately according to which kind follows which. Where "TeX automatic spacing" in 10.8.2 is a % per kind, here you can give a different value to each adjacent pair. Values are offsets in mu, and all defaults are 0.

These are the 25 pairs you can adjust. "Default" is the spacing normally inserted at that spot.

The last three pairs are spots where the spacing is normally 0. Give them a value and you can set the coefficient and the letter of 2x slightly apart, or open up the letterspacing between letters, to match the typesetting taste of your book.

The comma-decimal option

Storage keys: mymath_spmat_ + the pair name

10.8.4 Resetting

10.9 Appearance

Changes the look of the symbols themselves. These settings stretch and slant the glyph shapes; they are not about size or position.

Space width

Sigma shape

Integral sign

Arrowhead

Change a value and the result is drawn at once in the preview box below the group. The transformations added here carry over exactly to the vector PDF, and the solid K100 guarantee holds.

Storage keys: mymath_appear_ + the item name

10.10 Inline vertical position · tab order

10.10.1 Inline vertical position

Where an equation placed inside a line of text sits vertically is decided automatically by the InDesign panel. It matches the vertical center of the equation to the visual center of the body text and then corrects it once more with a value actually measured on the page after placing (see chapter 8 for details).

Storage keys: mymath_align_autobaseline / mymath_align_enable / mymath_align_divisor

10.10.2 Tab order

Decides which slot the cursor goes to first when you press Tab inside a fraction.

Korean and Japanese typesetting practice visits the denominator first. It matches the order in which a fraction is read aloud in those languages (denominator first), and some people find that it makes the flow of typing more natural.

Storage key: mymath_cursor_order

10.11 Color styles

Color styles are managed not in the Preferences dialog but in a separate window. Open it with 🎨 color style in the ribbon, or from the menu bar.

What is different

When you pick a color directly with the color picker, that color value stays in the equation. With a color style, only the name stays in the equation, and on output it is replaced by the actual color of that name.

So when you change the value of a style, every equation that uses it changes along with it, all at once. When the request comes in to "change this book's answer color from red to blue", you change one style instead of fixing the equations one by one.

The two lists

Every item has →document / →shared buttons for moving it between the two lists.

Styles included by default

The buttons on each item

Each row of the lists also shows, beside the name, whether it is a spot color and whether overprint is set. With export at the bottom of the window you can write the list of styles to a file.

Making a new style

1. Type a name in the new style box at the bottom of the window.
2. Set the color model and the values.
3. If needed, tick the spot color · overprint checkboxes.
4. Click add.

Storage keys: mymath_colorstyles_app (shared) / mymath_colorstyles_doc (just this equation)

10.12 Stretchy integral

A function that stretches the integral sign to match the height of the content beside it. Choose Stretchy integral… from the menu bar or the ribbon and set it in its own window.

By default ∫ has a fixed size, so when the integrand is vertically large, like a fraction or a radical, the integral sign looks small by comparison. With this function on, the sign grows to follow — only in those cases.

Signs it applies to

Not only the single integral ∫ but all six kinds — double and triple integrals and the contour and surface integral family.

The transformation added here carries over exactly to the vector PDF. The stretched shape you see on screen is what goes into InDesign.

Storage key: mymath_varint

Language

The panel and the editor follow the language of InDesign. With a Korean InDesign they appear in Korean, with an English InDesign in English.

Supported languages: English · 한국어 · Deutsch · Français · 日本語 · Español · 简体中文 · Português · Italiano · Русский. With an InDesign in a language that has no translation, they appear in English.

11. Import and export

MyMath reads 7 formats and writes 20. Reading is there so that equations you have already built are not lost; writing is there to carry equations to print, the web, documents and other editing programs.

11.1 Formats you can import

Open them with [📂 import file] in the ribbon's "import" group, or from the "File" menu. You can choose several files at once.

Importing, step by step

1. Ribbon "import" → [📂 import file].
2. Choose one file or several.
3. The first equation appears on the canvas and the import report opens.
4. Click another line in the report's list and that equation comes to the canvas.

11.2 Smart paste (Ctrl+Shift+V)

MyMath looks at the contents of the clipboard, works out what format they are in, and pastes accordingly. You do not have to choose a format.

After pasting, the status line says what the contents were recognized as — Detected format: AsciiMath — pasted. If it cannot tell, it says so — couldn't detect the format, treated as LaTeX — and inserts the text as is.

11.3 Reading the import report

When an import finishes, a results window opens. It is a principle of MyMath that nothing unrecognized is passed over in silence.

Inside the equation, every unrecognized place keeps a visible marker such as [S523]. It is neither deleted nor quietly swapped for some other symbol, so you can see at once what needs attention.

Extending the symbol table

Symbol numbers are internal to the original program, so they cannot be worked out from the file alone. MyMath is therefore built so that once you have checked a number and written it down, it is converted automatically from then on.

1. Click [open symbol table] at the bottom of the report. Documents\MyMath\mmf-symbols.json opens.
2. Check in the original program which symbol that number stands for.
3. Write the number and its LaTeX as a pair in the file.

   {
     "523": "\\clubsuit",
     "60":  "\\angle"
   }

4. Save; it takes effect from the next import. The report confirms it with entries registered now: N.

11.4 Copy as…

Ribbon "export" → [📋 copy as…]. It shows 12 formats, each with a preview of the result. You can see what will be pasted before you choose, so nothing gets pasted by mistake.

11.5 Saving as an image

Ribbon "export" → [🖼 save image]. Where the vector formats (PDF, SVG, EPS) are for print, these are for the web, slides and Word.

Resolution

Choose from 72 · 96 · 150 · 300 · 600 dpi. The default is 300 dpi; the dialog opens with the default resolution you set under "import/export settings".

Format

Fill with white background

Tick it to fill the background with white. JPEG and BMP cannot hold transparency, so they are always filled.

On saving, the actual pixel size is shown as well — PNG saved (412×186px): (path). For WMF the number of points is shown instead of pixels — WMF saved (3184 points): (path).

11.6 Exporting as vectors

Three formats that stay sharp at any magnification and can be used for print.

Carrying the original equation along

With include the original equation in exported files switched on under "import/export settings", the equation's original source (MathML and LaTeX) is written into the EPS alongside the drawing.

11.7 File-name macros

When you export many equations at once, names are generated from a rule. Type it in the "file name when exporting multiple" box of the ribbon's [⚙ import/export settings]; click a macro below and it is inserted into the name box. The result is shown live just underneath.

As in {#5}, the number after # is the number of digits. {#3} gives 007.

Other settings in the same window

11.8 Equation files (.mymath)

Keep a single equation as a file, and open and save it. Not only the LaTeX but the current typesetting settings (style set · appearance · script weight) are stored with it, so when you open it later it is reproduced exactly as it was.

Converting many files at once

Convert equation files in the "File" menu — choose several files in older formats and save them all at once as .mymath. Use it when moving a whole collection of older equations over.

1. "File" menu → convert equation files.
2. Choose the files to convert (.mmf files, MathML, and equations inside EPS or PDF all work).
3. Confirm where each file is saved. Only the extension of the original name changes, to .mymath.
4. Progress is shown as Converting equation files 3/12 (3 succeeded).
5. At the end: Equation files converted — 11 succeeded · 1 failed (file name — no equation)

The reason for a failure is shown as one of three — read failed (the file could not be read) · no equation (no equation data inside) · save failed.

11.9 Print preview · print

Shows the equation in the middle of a sheet of paper. It is for judging how large the equation is on a real page. "File" menu → print preview (Ctrl+P).

12. Print quality

This chapter is about producing data you can hand to the printer. Looking right on screen and printing without accidents are two different problems.

12.1 Why this tool suits print

12.2 Four ways to handle black

Choose under "print color (separation)" in Preferences. Your choice applies to every equation you place.

What happens to accent colors

An accent color (red, say) given to part of an equation is handled separately from black.

• With CMYK or spot color, accent colors are also converted to CMYK. Left as RGB, there would be no telling how they separate.
• With K100 or RGB, accent colors go out exactly as given.
• In every mode, pure black always goes out as black alone — it is handled separately so that conversion never turns it into four-color black.

12.3 Overprint

The overprint option under "print color" in Preferences. When on, black is printed on top of the plates below without knocking them out.

Equations are full of very thin lines — fraction bars, radical rules, matrix partition rules — so the difference shows. On pages with a tinted background (equations inside a colored box, for instance), turning it on is the safer choice.

12.4 Line thickness

Set in pt under "line thickness (print quality)" in Preferences. 0 means automatic (the engine's default).

The pt value you set is applied as a proportion of the body text size. That is why lines give the same impression where the text is 9 pt and where it is 14 pt.

12.5 Hangul inside equations

Hangul inside an equation ((단, x는 자연수) and the like) is not in the math font, so it needs special handling. MyMath takes the outlines of those characters directly from an installed font and draws them just like any other symbol.

• The font is not embedded whole, so the document stays light and there is no font to send to the printer.
• Choose the font under "Korean font for text in equations" in Preferences. You can search by name.
• If the chosen font lacks some characters, the number of missing characters is reported.

12.6 Checks when exporting PDF/X-1a

Things to check when you export a print PDF from InDesign (Ctrl+E → Adobe PDF (Print)).

What to check after exporting

Open the exported PDF in Acrobat's Output Preview.

1. Separations — do the equations disappear when only the black plate is switched off? If so, K100 is correct. If equations still show on other plates, they have become four-color black.
2. Fonts — the font list in the document properties should contain no math font. Equations are outlines and use no fonts. Only the body text fonts should appear.
3. Images — there should be no pixel images where the equations are. Everything must be vector.
4. Magnify — the edges should stay smooth even when an equation is enlarged to 800% or more.

12.7 Checklist before handing over to the printer

In the editor

• ☐ Print color is set to K100 (or the mode the printer prescribed)
• ☐ It is not set to RGB
• ☐ If equations contain Hangul, a Korean font is chosen
• ☐ Line thickness is not excessively thin (not below 0.2 pt)
• ☐ Overprint has been decided together with the printer
• ☐ The style set in use is saved (so the next volume gets the same typesetting)

In the InDesign panel

• ☐ The number of equations was checked with [Count equations]
• ☐ [Send list to editor] → the editor's proofing check reports everything fine (in particular, not a single empty slot ⬚)
• ☐ If settings were changed, [Re-render all equations] was run
• ☐ The vertical position of inline equations was looked over
• ☐ The document is saved

In the exported PDF

• ☐ With only the black plate left, the equations show; on the other plates they do not
• ☐ No math font in the font list
• ☐ No pixel images where the equations are
• ☐ Smooth even at high magnification

13. Keyboard shortcuts

The shortcuts of the MyMath editor come in four kinds: menu shortcuts (shown beside the menu items) · template shortcuts (insert a structure directly) · two-step shortcuts (first choose a family, then choose the symbol with the next key) · and editing helpers.

13.1 File

Importing equation files, batch-converting equation files and saving as an image have no shortcut; run them from the "File" menu.

13.2 Edit

13.3 Building equations — template shortcuts

Insert structures without taking your hands off the keyboard. After inserting, the cursor sits in the first empty slot. If something is selected, it goes inside the structure.

13.4 Format · size

13.5 View

The remaining view items — boundaries, sub-baselines, center line, empty input boxes, precision-nudged parts and so on — are switched on and off under menu "View > view settings".

13.6 Other

13.7 Two-step shortcuts

The first key chooses the family; the key you press next chooses the item. Pressing the first key brings up the assignment table at the bottom of the screen, so there is nothing to memorize. Esc cancels, and pressing a key with no assignment inserts nothing and tells you so.

Ctrl+G — 26 Greek letters

Lowercase as is; capitals with Shift. For letters that have no capital form here, Shift still gives the lowercase letter.

The keys with a capital form are G D Q L X P S U F Y W — 11 in all. A space is added after each Greek letter so that it does not run into the next character.

Ctrl+K — 28 symbols

The assignments default to Korean textbook notation. Parallel is available in both forms, the international ∥ and the Korean //, on separate keys.

Ctrl+T — 13 Korean textbook notation structures

Structures that are tedious to build by hand are inserted complete with their empty slots. After inserting, move between the slots with Tab and fill them in.

13.8 Assigning shortcuts on the InDesign side

The MyMath plugin registers two commands with InDesign. Assign the keys you like to them in InDesign's keyboard shortcuts dialog, and you can open the editor from the keyboard alone, without clicking the panel button.

1. Open Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts in InDesign.
2. The "Default" set cannot be changed directly, so make a copy with [New Set].
3. Under Product Area choose the plugins group, and find New Equation or Edit Selected Equation in the list.
4. Click in the "New Shortcut" box and press the key you want (if another command already uses it, its name is shown just below).
5. Save with [Assign] → [OK].

14. Troubleshooting

Install and connection

Placing equations

Batch operations

The editor

Output

If it still doesn't work — the log files

The panel keeps its own record of its start-up steps and errors. Send these files along when you ask for help and the cause can be found right away.
Send them to: uibsee@hanmail.net or GitHub Issues

15. What it cannot do — honestly

InDesign does not open certain features to plugins, so the following are impossible in principle. We have provided another way to get there instead.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work on a Mac?

The editor is prepared so that it can be built for Mac, but this has not been built or verified yet. For now only Windows is confirmed.

What if a document with equations is opened on a computer without MyMath?

Equations are inside the document as vectors, so they display and print as they are. To edit an equation on that computer, however, MyMath must be installed.

Can several people work on the same document?

Yes. To keep typesetting consistent, pass around a style set file; to share frequently used snippets, pass around the clips folder.

Where is the equation source stored?

As plain LaTeX text in the label of each equation frame. With the document file alone you can always recover the source, and no sidecar files are created.

Appendix. The complete palette list

The palette has 28 families · 646 items. Click a family button in the ribbon and the items of that family open on one screen (the basic items and the "more" items appear together). Hover over a button and the number of items is shown, as in Greek (43 items).

A.1 The families at a glance